Autumn Journal Update #2

An update on my Autumn Journal. So much going on over the past several weeks. Sometimes it's hard for me to pick and choose what goes in (I always have tons and tons of pictures) - thinking about adding another envelope (or two. or three.) and then printing off the extra pictures to include.

I am really happy with how it is coming together. Trying to think outside the box on how I am displaying my documenting. Trying to incorporate different ideas, but still make it feel cohesive. I added a part of a baseball card holder (cut down to 2 squares) and put in some pictures of our fave recipes this fall with the recipe written on the back. I also made a "pocket" out of transparencies so that I could show some of Jimmy's creations instead of having to put them in an envelope. I'm loving having his little bits of artwork in here.

thinking about: the holiday season

My Pinterest Searches: Fall Decoration, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Christmas Decorations

shop shipments

As of today, all pre-orders (first batch) for the Holiday Journals have shipped. Yay! I am overwhelmed at the enthusiasm and support over these journals. Thank you! I am so excited for each and every person to receive theirs :)

I have begun the second round of Holiday Journals and am hoping to ship them before the shop-stated November 21. We shall see. I am only making 8 more journals and two have been sold. So if you have been thinking about purchasing one, keep that in mind :) Have a wonderful weekend :)

Crockpot :: Meal Planning

Now that it's nice and chilly out, I've been cranking up the crockpot a lot recently. Love just putting all of the ingredients in and having a yummy hot meal at dinner time. Really helps on busy days full of school, appointments, errands, etc. when I don't have as much time to be in the kitchen.

I found this fabulous blog a little while ago - A Year of Slowcooking - where she used her crockpot every.single.day. for an entire year. I ended up ordering her first cookbook and it came yesterday. Yay! Most of the recipes can be found on her blog, but I love having a hard copy to thumb through and have a bunch of recipes in one place. And for not much $, I was all about it. The book is full of tons of different recipes, ranging from soups and stews, to fondues, to casseroles, to party mixes, to desserts, to how to do your own baby food (!!!). The recipes are easy to make, with inexpensive but yummy ingredients.

I am making Traditional Beef Stew for dinner tonight. We LOVE us some beef stew in our house, so we are excited to see how this particular recipe turns out. Pairing it with this bread that I made yesterday (recipe makes 2 loaves, perfect to have one one evening and use the second loaf the next day).

Jimmy was helping me plan this morning and wanted his mini-dinosaur to be in the picture :)

Holiday Journal Kit :: Update

Happy November! Ok, I am not trying to rush on through November (so excited for this month and for Thanksgiving coming up!), but I wanted to give an updated look at the Holiday Journal Kits.

I am happy to announce that I am getting ready to ship out all Holiday Journal Kits that were pre-ordered. They will ship by the end of this week. There are still a few left in this batch and then another batch will be available in 2-3 weeks (before December 1). If you look at this post, you can see the additional goodies that come with this kit. 

I tailored this particular journal (pictured) cover to be my own - the cover ('Tis the Season) comes undecorated, but with all of the embellishments to make your own like this if you choose to do that. I figured it would be nice to keep the title page blank so you can decorate it how you prefer. This journal is also pictured with a confetti window, which is available at a discount if you purchase a window with the holiday journal. It also ships free with the journal.

I am loving how mine is coming together, I trimmed the fabric swatch to be able to show the window and glitter paper (!!!) underneath. I also fringed the edges to add more texture.

Have you started preparing a journal for the Holiday Season? Get your own here. These journals are perfect because they come ready to go - you add your own touches, journaling and photos and make it your own unique holiday journal :)